The Oblate
Missionaries of Mary Immaculate

Jesus explained to his disciples the three facets necessary to becoming progressivelymore loving:

1. Love each other as you love yourself.
Loving one’s self translates into to the beginning of loving others. When we appreciate someone we should tell them so and find qualities in them that can help them overcome negative images they may have of themselves.

2. Love one another as I have loved you.
Jesus explains that he loves as man and as God. He loves with his whole heart, not superficially. His love is total and he asks that we love as he loves. Loving someone simply for their performance or for the joy we experience from their way of being is not really love. Loving is looking for the best in others and accepting them for who they are and as they are.

3. Love one another as the Father lovesyou.
Love fosters unity. There is no weakness in love; the Father’s love for his Son is perfect. Each of the persons in the Trinity initiates us to the profound mystery of what true love really means.Jesus asks usto live these three facets of love and gives us the strength, the light and love to do so successfully.

Extracts from the collection Les Volontaires (The Volunteers) by Louis-Marie Parent, o.m.i.

Photo: Gerd Altmann

Greetings!

I would like to share with you my involvement in my parish. Since the parish was experiencing financial problems we have initiated a variety of activities to put money in the kitty. One of these was garage sales.
For the past 17 years, people have been donating clothes, furniture… all kinds of things like pots, dishes, etc. In preparing for the sale days 15 volunteers work at displaying the articles. My job is to wash and polish the pots, dishes… even a lawn mower. This team work is a human and spiritually enriching experience; we all have different ideas about how to prepare displays. We have to make concessions and learn to respect each other. On sale days I sell fifty-fifty tickets.
In this experience I see the Holy Spirit in action; we learn to create fraternal ties, camaraderie and to take teasing, to be joyful and forgiving. We get to know each other and, in so doing, create community. For me our spirituality of the 5-5-5 help me to be a peacemaker.

Danielle M.

To view the video (available in French only) go to

Greetings,

Today I am entering into your home via television for a visit with you. I hope you are well.

During this month of May,month dedicated to Mary, I invite you to sing the prayer to Mary with me. Let us sing it for our seniors since Mary is the mother of all, mother of the vulnerable. She is the mother of all who have now become fragile due to present events. Let us sing together.

Let us pray: Hail Mary, full of grace,the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Let us consider Mary as the spiritual mother of all believers, a mother who is there and accompanies us. Some say, “What is the point of praying; no one up there is listening.” Remember that prayer is first and foremost an encounter of love, and today, this encounter is with Mary, our mother. Remember that as Mary and John stood at the foot of the cross, Jesus said to Mary,“Woman, this is your son.” and to John, “This is your mother.”

When Jesus entrusted John to Mary, he entrusted each ofus to her as well. Let us not forget that she is our mother;she holds each of her children by the hand, she holds the hand of those who suffer, of those who are ill. She is a mother who cradles each of her children in her heart just as they are. She supports us. This may surprise you but, when I am sad, she cries with me, she consoles me.

Let us acknowledge in Mary a loving presence, a presence of hope, a presence that is a path of life. What do you say to starting our prayer chain right now? Let us say a Hail Mary asking Mary, our mother, to support andprotect all COVID-19 front-line workers.

Let us expand our prayer from the heart to embrace the whole world.

Louise F. Volunteer of God

The Dominican Republic
The testimony of a work colleague, Maximo de la Rosa

Udelca is a petite woman, full of joy. Her presence at our Panamerican Union High School was a witnessing of dignity, of putting God first. She modestly assumed the direction of our institute for two years. She overcame many obstacles. She was true to and respectful of our institution. She manifested commitment and serenity in her decision-making bearing in mind workstandards and fraternal action.

Her conviction of responding to a mission kept her grounded without being distracted like a false prophet.
She has left a legacy of dignity. She will continue to go forward and will continue to surpass herself.
---------------------------------------------

I wanted my colleague to express his opinion because that is how we gage what we do and the value of our witnessing as viewed by others.

These words of my colleague, Maximo, made me think and reflect. Each instant of our lives is a treasure to be lived from day to day regarding the past as pure experience that helps me to grow personally and spiritually.

The strength of prayer, in presenting my actions to God, greatly helped me in my commitment while keeping in mind my charism and my state of life. I thought only of moving forward and of giving the best of myself without looking for any return, trusting and certain that everything could be possible. I felt strongly that the Lord was with me. For me, it was simply a service I was called to carry out without complaining.

Udelca M. March, 2020

My move to a seniors’ home was not expected; it was motivated by health issues. Confused, I call upon the Blessed Virgin to show me a new mission where I could be happy. Here is the journey she pointed me to.

Initially I was reassured by the smile of a lady who often sat next to my door for a rest. Then, at the cafeteria, I was invited to a table. At the reception I was well received and was given the information I requested. The people here are welcoming and greet each other every time they meet.

I have found here at Le Patrimoine de la charité chrétienne (The Heritage of Christian Charity) elements of my spirituality. How marvelous! The Blessed Virgin has chosen well! The charism of the Institute invites us to A constant availability to the will of the Father to live everywhere the charity of Christ through service, with the help of Mary.

Being available means living the present moment, to being open to the people I meet. That is how I am adapting to my milieu while discovering how likeable people can be. And my mission? Like Christ, manifest the unconditional love of God the Father to everyone… The people in the residence have already manifested that by their warm welcome by revealing the signs of his presence at the heart of daily life. How can I not myself manifest love in return to love? How can I not smile when I am loved?

How is that love carried over in daily life? By a greeting and a smile. What is remarkable in this region is that people look at us, greet us and help with intention by opening doors, helping to carry packages, etc. It is simple but effective.

I don’t have to search any length of time to find concrete ways of living the presence of God in my milieu. Who does not need a listening ear, encouragement or affectionate attention when visited by illness or in mourning the loss of a loved one? We have at our disposal a chapel, mass, various celebrations, interesting activities that call for collaboration and participation.

Several people are aware of my Oblate commitment and I feel well accepted. I am involved in pastoral work with the sick, I bring communion to residents in their rooms, I participate in animating celebrations and help in training animators. Often, as I pass by heading to the chapel for mass, people share prayer intentions they want me to bring on their behalf.

After visiting a home where I saw sad, withdrawn people my response was to radiate smiles and good humor in greeting others. Why? If not we look old, we look like living dead. At 84 I don’t feel old so I smile and am happy, and I hope to be even moreso tomorrow. What about solitude? I need it to go to my inner being, to be silent, listen to God and meet him in prayer, in the Word and in people. I need it as well to cope with the many changes to life in society, in the Church and in the Institute.

I can live with hope and trust because, every day, I am nourished by the spirituality of the Institute. Mass, the rosary, meditation of the Word, the love of each person, abstaining from judging, taking a positive reading of events give me concrete tools that help me to adapt. I also have Oblate companions who support me with their affection, their attention and their marvelous commitment to love and serve. The team enhances life and energy.

As you can see I have no reason to complain! To the contrary, I am abundantly blessed. I thank Mary for having accompanied me so well.

As long as I live, my mission is not ended! I love life! I love life!

Lina L.

Reine-Aimée was a pioneer of our Institute, present at the time of the foundation.
The unfolding of her life: Reine-Aimée was the 11th child in a large family of 14. Early in life she sensed the call to consecrate her life to Jesus.

Several years later, around the age of 16, she met Father Louis-Marie Parent, OMI, and told him of that desire. He told her to wait a little... he had a project for a foundation in mind.

Then, in 1952 when she was 23 and had taught school for 4 years, she received a letter from Father Parent saying that, in July, he was facilitating a retreat in Edmunston (New Brunswick) for candidates who were interested in his foundation project. Reine-Aimée attended that retreat.

At the end of the first day, Father Parent, (passionate as always) had assigned responsibilities to each: Luce Lacombe, a nurse, was named “foundress,” Isabelle Delisle, co-foundress and Reine-Aimée, the formator of new recruits.

Reine-Aimée hesitated to take on such a responsibility. Father Parent asked her, “Have you ever done this?” “No,”she replied. “Then try and we’ll see,” he said. And that is how she became responsible for formation, first in Grand Falls (New Brunswick), then in 1953, at the house of formation at Cap-de-la-Madeleine.

Reine-Aimé had pronounced her first vows October 7, 1952. Shortly after she was assigned more responsibilities.

In February 21, 1953, she opened a house at Cap-de-la-Madeleine. Prophetically, the house number was “555” and the street name was “Notre Dame.” Soon after, with Marguerite Desharnais, she moved to 20 Sanctuaire Street.

Reine-Aimée, Directress-General
Five years later, December 28, 1958, she is unanimously elected Directress-General of the Institute. She was congratulated by His Excellency Roméo Gagnon, bishop responsible for the Institute at the time. “You have been chosen by the Institute and you are my choice as well,” he said; words that she accepted with humility. She remained Directress-General till the 1967 General Assembly.

Here are several events that reveal the humility that characterized Reine-Aimée:
One day during one of his visits, his Excellency Bishop Pelletier (of Trois-Rivières, Quebec) commented, “Such a young woman with such big responsibilities!” Reine-Aimée replied, “I am not alone. There is Father Parent and competent companions. I wouldn’t want to bear the same reproached the Lord addressed to Peter, ‘O man of little faith, why did you doubt?’”

On another occasion she had a similar response to Cardinal Léger who had asked, “Who runs the Institute? Is it Father Parent or Madame Reine-Aimée Welsh?” She replied, “It is neither, Your Excellency. It is the Holy Spirit!”

Indeed, it was the Holy Spirit, through the person of Bishop Albert Sanschagrin (a cousin to Reine-Aimée), who inspired Reine-Aimée to suggest to Father Parent to undertake procedures to have the Institute recognized by Rome. And the approval was granted.

Following the 1967 General Assembly
After 22 years of dedication at the head and heart of the Institute, Reine-Aimée, accompanied by Angèle Demontigny, spent a year in Paris studying in human relations.

Upon her return she enters the labor market working in a bookstore, then in Quebec City in charge of the MSA Welcome Centre for the Ministry of Social Affairs which provided shelter and social reintegration services to unwed mothers. She was well prepared for this commitment; it suited her perfectly, as was confirmed by her team and supervisors who were impressed with her respect for others, her calm demeanor and her frankness.

Retirement
Upon retiring in 1988, Reine-Aimée moved to a residence in Quebec City then later to Montreal. She never doubted her calling to Oblate life nor did she doubt the survival of the Institute (that many labeled as a flash in a pan or a passing fancy). Her spirit of service and her faithfulness set the tone for all the Oblates she welcomed during her many years at the head of the Institute.

Sixtieth Anniversary of the Institute
In November 2011, on her 60th anniversary in the Institute, Reine-Aimée drafted a short autobiography. Here are a few extracts describing her journey as she experienced it:
She writes:
From the beginning I always did my best to foster the emergence of the founder’s charism, to leave him all the space. I have never considered myself the foundress; I would say to myself, “It is Father Parent who received the grace of foundation and not me.”
At the end of his life Father Parent told me, “Reine-Aimée, I thank you for what you have been for the Institute. I have always been sure of you and sure that I could count on you.” These words struck a chord with my deepest sentiments. My docility to the charism of the Institute, as revealed through Father Parent, was my way of serving as the Virgin Mary served.
I was docile because I was convinced that that was what the Lord asked of me. There was never a doubt from the moment I said ‘yes’. I would sometimes offer suggestions but it was always he who made the final decision. I made it a point not to be a hindrance. I was not at the service of Father Parent but at the service of the Lord in all that Father Parent, the intermediary, asked of me.
I once told Father Parent, “Working for you is easy but working with you is not always easy.” All that to say there were difficult moments but I remained faithful to my calling in all that required service, gift of self and availability.
I therefore served with profound faith, in freedom, in discernment and in great abandonment. I stayed in the background. At times when I was at a loss, I am sure the Lord gave me the wisdom and the discernment I needed.
One of my great joys was when I saw the Basilica at the Cape filled to capacity for Father Parent’s funeral. I said to the Lord, ‘How I am pleased that you gave me the grace to be faithful to all you asked of me, because there were many occasions when I could have created issues in Father Parent’s mission.

We see in these writings how discretion and humility were intentional choices Reine-Aimée made.

Dear Reine-Aimée,
You, the humble and discrete woman who was a precious collaborator of the founder of our Institute, be assured that your name will forever be etched in the history of the Institute and in the heart of each one of us who has known and loved you. You have truly been the ‘beloved queen’ of all with whom you have crossed paths.

Obtain for us the grace to continue loving the Institute as you have loved and served it these many years among us.

Rejoice now in the presence of the Beloved of your life!

THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US
We are at our third reflection. After looking at who the Holy Spirit is and by what means or gifts He works our souls, we will reflect on how He leads us. We will dwell on the silence that is always very important to better hear his voice speaking secretly in our souls. It is therefore necessary for Him to prepare us to listen interiorly and to accept what He is going to ask of us.
It is truly in peace that the Holy Spirit reigns, that He never ceases to give himself, enriching the soul that welcomes Him with his graces, his gifts and his fruits. He also teaches how to pray. Let’s never forget to thank Him. He shows us how to love, since charity exceeds all virtues. We, who want to live the love of Christ in the present moment, need this Master to accompany us there. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Love at the centre of all virtues and perfections.
It is good to experience this new state - this inner action. There are five degrees in the life of the Holy Spirit’s dwelling in the soul and each degree has many nuances:

• First, the Holy Spirit touches the soul, awakening it and moving it. It’s the beginning of discovery. It is about becoming aware of His active presence inside us and of being amazed by it. We can only thank and be grateful for this favour. The Father does not refuse this gift when it is asked in the name of Jesus.

• Secondly, the Holy Spirit takes a place in the soul, filling it with graces. Accordingly, the soul realizes that all it has is a free gift from God and that what it does in His company is easy and always successful. It places all its trust and attention in Him. When it senses an inspiration, no matter how subtle it is, it acts on it, or speaks it without looking for the why.

• Third, the Holy Spirit reposes in the soul, that is, He is not always active. The Holy Spirit detaches the soul from the world, sometimes by a serious illness or accident, etc., which allows it to analyze all the details of its life and to realize that the graces received were for its good. Even sins are seen as opportunities to thank God for having saved it and protected it.

• Fourth, the Holy Spirit possesses the soul. The soul is totally His and responds to all His desires, because it belongs to Him; the soul belongs completely to Him. The soul abandons itself, letting the Holy Spirit transform it. The soul feels more precisely the Holy Spirit’s presence and its effects, which detaches it from all that is human. The soul seeks only the will of God, is satisfied only by it and wants only more love to invest in what happens or could happen. When it is troubled, the soul seeks its rest in the Holy Spirit and entrusts to Him all that the soul has to live.

• Fifth, is the phase of union. The soul is in great peace; it lives on this earth as if it transcends it, in a deep interiority and a great solitude. Life goes on but the soul is in a secret place, hidden from view. It discovers the Spirit’s action, enjoys it, offers and gives thanks for everything in the human heart. Even if this degree is not constantly felt, the soul remains united to the Holy Spirit by a very close and indissoluble bond. Few people reach this degree of union.
These are the souls who abandon themselves. The breath of the Holy Spirit has prepared and led them. It is He who purifies them, gives life and fans the flame. The Holy Spirit, who is Love, works in the soul. The soul discovers the Spirit’s presence in beings and in the entire universe. Love leads the soul and makes it discover new things. It recognizes the Spirit in the work of the Father, in the life of Jesus, and a song of praise, thanksgiving, and love arises within it.

Conclusion:
Let us then be guided by Love, abandoning ourselves with total trust in the Holy Spirit. Our life will be more beautiful; it will become a hymn of praise. Let us give thanks for this gift that Jesus gave us on the day of Pentecost. Each day, let us ask the Holy Spirit that these gifts be active in us.

Rose M, Oblate

I invited women to become more deeply aware of their interior strength – what was the source of this strength... Within us is something much greater than ourselves, something divine which will remain forever.

To view the video (available in French only) go to

«To be born again to the divine life in baptism is the first step; we must then behave as sons of God, that is to say, to conform to Christ who works in the holy Church, by becoming involved in his mission in the world. This is made possible by the anointing of the Holy Spirit: “without his strength, there is no strength in man”. Without the strength of the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing: it is the Spirit who gives us the strength to advance. Just as the whole life of Jesus was animated by the Spirit, so the life of the Church and of each of its members remains under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit.

The “breath” of the Risen Christ fills the lungs of the Church with life; and, indeed, the mouths of the disciples, “filled with the Holy Spirit”, open to proclaim to all, the great works of God (cf. Acts 2:1–11).The Holy Spirit is the great gift of God. And we all have the Spirit inside ourselves. The Spirit is in our heart, in our soul. And the Spirit guides us in our life so that we become the right salt, and the right light, for men.

And, I wonder: how can one realize that one has received the gift of the Spirit? If we perform the works of the Spirit, if we speak the words taught by the Spirit (cf.1 Cor 2:13). Christian witnessing consists in doing only, and all, what the Spirit of Christ asks us, granting us the strength to accomplish it».

Excerpt from “The General Audience of Pope Francis, 23 may 2018

The organization Development and Peace was founded in 1967 by the Canadian Bishops. The objective of the organization resonated with my desire to help the poorest of the poor by targeting the underlying causes of poverty.

I was almost thirty, teaching in the Haute Mauricie (Quebec), when I became representative of Development and Peace for my parish.

Upon retiring I returned to Nicolet, my home diocese. As a member of Bon-Pasteur parish in Drummondville  I continued year after year to be involved in the organization.

The objective of Development and Peace was so dear to me that I passed the torch on to younger people.

Mrs. Bianca Mailloux, pastoral worker, and Benjamin Mercier, a senior high-school student, spoke at masses on the fifth Sunday of International Solidarity 2019.

On that occasion the National President of Development and Peace, Mr. Jean-Denis Lampron, presented me with a certificate of appreciation for my commitment and contribution to social justice.

Réjeanne A